The Juicer

A few years ago I bought a juicer at Costco. It was reasonably priced and I like juice. I used it for a week, got tired of cleaning it and stashed it away. Now I am told that is the most important of my 283 appliances. Thinking it would be buried in the garage I entered this dark mysterious cell in search of that that shall make me well. Immediately the colorful box appeared and my hopes soared as I reached across the hundreds of boxes of books. The damn thing was empty. Back in the kitchen I got on my hands and knees and banged through the cupboards displacing underused pots and pans of past culinary endeavors. No luck. It was later discovered in the little cupboard where no one goes [over the stove hood]. I dragged the dusty contraption up to the house where I am dog-sitting. After I dis-assembled it and soaked the soak-able parts in hot soapy water, scrubbing the screen with a stiff brush, I reassembled it and went foraging for experimental materials. Several, small pealed carrots, half a stalk of celery and two Asian pears would do. Use as wide-mouthed a jar/cup as you can fit under the spout. This puppy makes quite a mess. I frightened the dogs out of the kitchen as well. Delicious! Next day I filled the shopping cart with broccoli, kale, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, apples, carrots, spinach, celery and more. When I returned to the juicer I remembered being told I could add nuts as well. I looked through the manual for instructions. There was the answer to my cleaning problem. Before using the juicer, line the hopper with a small plastic bag that can later be removed and sent to the garden compost. The bags from the veggies worked fine. I prepared a carrot, celery, and spinach libation, enough for three 12-ounces glasses. I am drinking the last one now. I will get more creative as I learn the benefits of each ingredient.